


Festival

by FeatherQuilt88



Series: The Amber Dragon Anthology [31]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cute, Cute Kids, Dadko, Family Fluff, Fire Lord Zuko, Four Elements, Gen, Happy, Happy Family, Plushies, Post-Canon, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 03:56:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21191156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatherQuilt88/pseuds/FeatherQuilt88
Summary: Fire Lord Zuko takes his two children to play some carnival games.





	Festival

**Author's Note:**

> For readers new to my "Amber Dragon" fanfic series--Zuko is married to Jin here. Kiwa and Yuji are the fanchildren I made up for them.

It's the fifth annual Harmony Day festival. Zuko, Aang, and the other national leaders all came together to declare this new holiday--the first one that would be shared worldwide--to celebrate peace between the four elements.

Zuko takes his two children strolling through Capital City's plaza, music and streamers and delicious smells wafting all around them. The Fire Lord laughs fondly as he feels his little ones' hands tugging his, guiding him from one festival booth to the next.

"Lookit, wanna stuffie!" Yuji laughs too, suddenly, pointing at a display of plush animals. "Please, Daddy?"

Several toy dragons, badgermoles, sky-bison, and ocean-koi hang from the top of a ring-toss game, their friendly smiles begging to be taken home. Zuko grins. "I suppose we can try our luck."

Three-year-old Yuji is still too small to throw the rings with much force or accuracy, but his father kindly picks up the slack for him. The attendant tries to keep a straight face, reminding himself not to show any special favoritism in the scoring--Zuko may be the ruler of their whole country, but somehow, the man gets the impression that the current Fire Lord would approve of fair play.

He needn't have worried--Zuko scores at least four tosses legitimately, one for each element. It's enough to earn one of the prizes. "Yaaaa-aaay!" Yuji and Kiwa both hop up and down, laughing again, the little princess nearly spilling her fire-flakes.

The attendant nods his permission for the Fire Lord to choose a small doll. "Okay, Yuji, we'll just take this--" Zuko reaches up to one of the badgermoles, but is stopped by the little prince's squeal.

"No, wanna dwagon!"

"Oh," Zuko almost blushes, ashamed at having "element-cast" his child. Yuji had turned out to be of Earth, when the sages had examined him at birth, just as Kiwa had turned out to be of Fire. And the toddler prince had acted rather upset one day, when Kiwa had discovered her Firebending powers, to the family's delight.

Children were usually anywhere from four to eight years old, when they began manifesting bending capabilities, if they had them. It was still a little early to tell whether Yuji would be an Earthbender, or just an Earth non-bender, like his mother. Zuko and Jin had both assured him that they would love him as much as ever either way, of course. But Zuko had wondered if having a little plush badgermole--"one of the original Earthbenders!"--would cheer Yuji up.

But no, the little prince wants a dragon today. _And why not?_ Zuko suddenly realizes, with another smile. Yuji is an Earth person biologically, but he is a Fire prince politically--and even an entirely non-Fire person, like Aang or Katara, might still want a dragon friend!

Zuko grabs one of the dragon toys, a bright orange one with a very cute smile, and hands it to his son. Yuji shrieks with glee as his father presses the plushie's nose into his button one. The little prince grabs the toy into his own tiny arms, hugging it tight. Zuko beams fondly, then feels his daughter tugging at his kimono-sleeve. "_I_ wanna badgermole, Daddy!"

The laughter and the game-rings fly thick and free again. "You know," Zuko's golden eyes twinkle at his children, "I think _I_ may want one of those ocean-koi, after we get Kiwa her badgermole. One of the _jumbo_-sized ones, up there at the top!"

Zuko guides their attention to the rack of the largest toys, near the back of the booth, and explains, "It's nearly as big as me! Can you imagine the look on Mommy's face, if I sneak out of bed one morning and leave that in my place?" he grins broadly. "She'll pop her pigtails when she wakes up!"

Kiwa and Yuji both squeal with delight, amazed to think of their royal father being so mischievous.


End file.
